Man crashes in Shrewsbury while fleeing police

A 20-year-old Shrewsbury Township man turned himself in to police after leading an officer on a chase that ended in a crash in Shrewsbury early Saturday morning.

Alex Donaldson, 20, of Lois Lane is charged with attempting to elude police, possession of a small amount of marijuana, underage drinking, and five summary traffic violations. He is free on $5,000 bail, according to Southern Regional Police.

An officer was behind the vehicle Donaldson was driving when he allegedly failed to stop at a sign in New Freedom just about 1 a.m., police said.

When the officer attempted to pull over the vehicle, Donaldson tried to flee but lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a utility pole at the intersection of South Main Street and East Tolna Road in Shrewsbury, police said.

After the crash, Donaldson fled on foot but turned himself in to authorities about an hour later, police said.

Donaldson admitted to fleeing from police, stating that he was doing the speed limit until the officer tried to stop him and that it was an inconvenience and he just wanted to get home, police said.

Police found a bag of suspected marijuana in Donaldson's vehicle when they searched it, police said.

As police investigated the crash, a firefighter who was directing traffic alerted officers to an intoxicated driver who was trying to enter the accident scene on Tolna Road, which was blocked by a police car, police said.

The man, whose name was not released by police, was arrested for driving under the influence, police said.